What is VIE 3?

I've just begun planning for 3rd grade. For those of you who have 'been there, done that', please tell me, is this enough for 3rd grade language arts: Writing With Ease Level 3 First Language Lessons Level 3 Abeka Spelling Level 3 I've been using Abeka for K-2 and sporadically working in WWE and FLL this past year. As I look at Abeka 3rd grade language arts, it looks a lot like the WWE & FLL. So I'm thinking of doing all WWE & FLL, what do you think? Plus, what do you use for a 3rd grade reading program? I do not like the Abeka reading program, it does not work well for my child.

Depends on how many of the books your library has. You can purchase the books used, that's what I've done. As for the DVD...well I just quit doing it because it did not coordinate with the lessons for that week.

I'm only familiar with the early grades. We've done Abeka Math and Phonics for K4, K & 1 and will continue for 2nd. It has worked well for my kids. We use other curriculums for History & Science. This works very well for us because it provides a variety of curriculum styles so the kids don't get tired out from one particular style. I've heard ALL Abeka can get boring, I've heard ALL Sonlight can get to be too much work. I may make some changes for 3rd grade...but that's a year away :)

Is there a place that I could get a subscription to have art/craft supplies sent to me for my early-elementary kids? This way I might do more projects and not have to plan them out myself :) Thanks - Susan

OH you make me laugh! Well, maybe I'll try it. I'll talk to DH tonight.

For those using SOTW book 1. Did you make the chicken mummy in Chapter 4? If so, did you and the kids enjoy the process? Was it worth it? What did the final chicken look like and what did you do with it? Would you do it again? My thoughts: *that sounds fun *how much am I going to spend on making a chicken mummy??? Looks like it needs to be resalted regularly....ugh. *my stomach starts to churn at the thought of the process (and hey, I've butched chickens on the farm...it's just the mummifiying....) *what, oh what, do you do with the thing in the end???? Thanks for your BTDT advice :)

Health & typing. Some History & Science. All while doing a little math, phonics & reading so the kids don't forget.

One friend bought her's for $185, the other $250...plus shipping.

Real Science 4 Kids Pre-Level 1 Chemistry

Yes, that was it! The Zoology book. Thanks much!

I was reading what others had choose for their early elementary science curriculums. I researched some of them and came across one that had an on-line sample of a nature walk scavenger hunt. It had like 30 or so things on the list. Told the students to keep track of when they found the items and once they had found all of them, to let the publisher know and they would get recognized or a certificate or something like that. Now, I can not remember which science curriculum it was, can anyone help me out?

A friend, who is a former 1st grade teacher, just told me about Reading Island. Where can I buy this computer program? This is the only information I've been able to find about it: http://www.fcatexplorer.com/programs.asp?gsid=7 She told me that it is now offered as part of the curriculum that homeschoolers get if they enroll/homeschool through the public school system.

Watch the forums (here, VegSource, ebay) for sales. Being spring time people will begin selling entire cores. You should be able to buy an entire core for less than from Sonlight. A friend of mine will be selling her Core 3 sometime this spring, not sure what site she'll list it on. But a year ago she got it all for $250.

I do this for Level 1. In level 1 the parent is supposed to write down the child's narration and keep it in a notebook. I'm printing out a page of narrations for each book after we narrate it and then putting it in their notebook.

FYI - the workbooks are $22/23 on Amazon. That will save you a few $. I bought the hardbound spine and have been using it for the last month. Here are my reasons for doing the spine instead of the workbook: 1. Level 1 is pretty straight forward, easy to pull a narration assignment and copy work out of the literature we are currently reading. 2. We are regularly reading a literature book. I do the narration from the book we are already reading, I usually use the first few paragraphs of the chapter. 3. We sit at the computer and I type up my child's narration sentences. 4. I already have a list of literature books to get through this school year. If we used the workbook then I know the kids and I would then want to get that book from the library and read it too! And my kids would ask all sorts of questions about the book the narration snippet came from, while good....it just reinforces that we'd need to read it also. LOL! While the ideas for additional books would be fun, that's even more books to add to our reading list :) and therefore would end up in more work for me. EX: The textbook has a sample narration from Alice in Wonderland, I've put that narration on hold until we finish reading our current literature book. Then I'll read that narration exercise and get Alice in Wonderland from the library. We are still doing narrations, just from our current book. So for me, sticking with the hardbound spine saves me work and time. :)

The ABC Readiness series is a great set of workbooks for preschoolers. http://www.clp.org/store/by_course/89 http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-10020-GHI/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Preschool

I had this discussion with a friend who had been a 1st grade teacher. I used her advice and my son is now reading much better than he was just 2 months ago. I had been following the curriculum, reading a new story every day, it was not working, he was not enjoying it, he had to sound out most of the words. Here are her suggestions that worked for us: *Read the same story every day for a week. *You as the parent first read the story to the child. This gives the child an idea of what words are in the story and what the story is about. *The next day or two, you and the child take turns while reading the story. Every other sentence, paragraph or page. *You can even have the child act out the story as you read it. *By reading the same book several times a child then actually learns the words. The first time reading a story the child is spending most of their time decoding the words. The repetition builds fluency and long term memory of the words. *Spend reading time in books that have new words for the child to learn. The rest of the time, let the child read books that are below his reading level. This builds confidence, fluency and word recognition. This had made a world of difference with my son. He now enjoys reading. We saw progress the very first week.

I only used the workbook for K. For 1st grade we used the workbooks, TM, Basic Phonics Flashcards & Large Phonics Teaching charts. They were great. For review purposes I'd recommend the TM & 2 sets of charts. The TM gives you all the phonics rules. OR get a copy of The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading by SWB. It will cost less, go over all the rules and be a good review.

Have you thought about using SOTW 1 with the AG? Then you could choose activities for the older child and younger child. You could also pull in the literature books from Sonlight 1.

I'd go with the Core 1+2. I've heard from others that you don't want to go too far above the child's grade level because the materials chosen are for that older age...don't want to get into certain content until the child is old enough to understand. Plus the older books may not hold the interest of the 1st grader. Whereas, the older child should still find the books from 1+2 interesting and not too young. Sonlight often chooses quality read-alouds that interest even adults.

Angela - Were the markers worth the money? Did you continue to use the book? Did your daughter enjoy it? I'm wondering if I should just stick with crayola for now and see how much interest they have in doing artwork. OR does having nice markers actually help to make the experience more enjoyable and interesting?

Those look like some nice markers - Thanks Angela!

I'm reading Drawing with Children. The book says to buy some good quality markers. Markers where the black does not fade/bleed/turn green when a light color, such as yellow, is used next to it. What brand would that be? Where did you buy them? Any other art supply recommendations out there? Thanks! Susan 3 DS, ages 6, 5, & 3

Just place my order, Woo Hoo!!! Looking forward to it's arrival :)